Product Code Database
Smetana is the English-language name for the different types of sour cream traditionally prevalent in Central Europe, Eastern Europe, and Southeastern Europe, and Central Asia. It is a dairy product produced by souring heavy cream. It is similar to crème fraîche, but nowadays mainly sold with 9% to 42% milkfat content depending on the country. Its cooking properties are different from crème fraîche and sour cream sold in the US, which contain 18% butterfat. It is widely used in cooking and baking.
In some of the Slavic languages (Czech language, Slovak language, Slovene language) the sole word smetana refers to (sweet) cream. In these cases an adjective (zakysaná, kyslá, kisla) meaning 'soured' is needed when referring to smetana in the English sense.
The current trend toward reduced fat content is believed to have resulted in an inferior product. To imitate Hungarian-style cooking and the use of smetana (called tejföl in Hungarian), Hungarian cookbooks recommend using Western sour cream mixed with heavy whipping cream (38–40% milkfat).Karoly Gundel (1992). 963133600X, Corvina. 963133600Xpage 17 Unlike sour cream mixed with whipping cream, smetana is not homogenized.
In Central European countries such as the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and Poland, smetana may refer to sweet cream or soured cream. It should contain at least 10% fat. Smetana that has at least 30% fat is called smetana ke šlehání (whipping cream) and is used for the production of šlehačka (whipped cream).
In Ukrainian, Belarusian and , sour cream is often added to borscht and other soups, and is used as a salad dressing and as a condiment for dumplings, such as varenyky and pelmeni. In Polish cuisine smetana can be added to traditional pierogi dumplings. It is also used in gravies served with Bohemian (Czech) cuisine, such as marinated beef svíčková. In Slovak cuisine, smotana (cognate of smetana) is often incorporated into bryndzové halušky and pierogi.
Schmand mit Glumse (whipped cream with quark) is used in Prussian and other Germanic cuisines in savory dishes and also for cakes called Schmandkuchen and desserts.Schmand A German medical book published in 1677 recommended Schmant or Milchraam as the best part of the milk. Schmand is the cream of the milk, or the foam that rises up like the foam on beer. Lexicon from Osnabrück of 1756, page 217, describes smanten as Bier Schaum, like the foam on beer Schmand or Schmant also describes other fatty foamy material and is known as a byproduct of mining ( Grubenschmant), for example in vitriol development. The Central European name for fattier varieties of smetana, mileram, is probably a variation of the earlier Bavarian name for the product, Millirahm, meaning "milk cream".
When comparing brands or suppliers of smetana, the Polish and Russian practice is to compare the fat content of the varieties. Fat content can range from 10% (runny) to 70% (thick). The most common supermarket smetana is 10% to 40% fat (milk fat only for an authentic product). Thickeners such as gelatine or starch may be added, although this is often considered to be adulteration and may make such smetana unsuitable for many culinary uses.
In Finland, the name "smetana" is used only for a product with a high fat content (30% or more), while ordinary smetana is called " hapankerma" ("sour cream").
The word is a cognate with Slavic smetana (Czech: "cream", Russian: "sour cream").
Smântână is widely used in Romanian cuisine, particularly in appetizers, main courses, soups and desserts. It is often added to Chorba and other soups, and is used as a condiment for mămăligă and dishes like sarmale.
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